A Crack in a Heart of Stone
by The Temple of Time
Summary: It started out as a job and a plot to ensure his freedom. But then it turned into a desperate situation where he has to chose whether to save the love of his life... or kill his strongest enemy
1. Chapter 1

Link looked up at the sky. Another beautiful day in the country of Hyrule. Not a cloud in the sky—at least none above Kakariko Village. Not even a breeze disturbed the whistle grass around the spring. He stood and stretched, forgetting that Midna was on his back. She slid off, jerked awake, and then growled at him.

"Damn it, Link," she snapped, her voice thick with sleep. "How many times have I told you to wake me before you get up?"

Link rolled his eyes and looked south. Though he had just been turned into a wolf by Zant, he was surprisingly calm. There were no more twilight covered areas and he had spent the night hidden in the village. Having the scent of Ilia close by was comforting.

Today, he would be heading to the Sacred Grove. When he was done there, he would go to Ordon Village and tell Mayor Bo that he had finally found Ilia and that she was safe in

Kakariko Village. He suddenly felt Midna jump up onto his back again. "Come on," she urged impatiently. "Let's go."

Link yipped excitedly and bounded forward. Midna cut a scream short and grabbed onto the thick fur on the back of Link's neck. She started cursing at him and his stupidity, but he ignored her. He had newfound energy and a desire to use it. He ran through Kakariko Spring just for the fun of it and snapped at a couple butterflies before finally turning and heading out into southern Hyrule Field.

Link never got used to the feel of the wind rushing through his fur. He barked into the wind and felt a jolt of excitement in his heart. He continued to bark and run across the vast field that separated him and his village. Upon entering the woods, he reached Coro's hut. The man watched nervously and remained silent as Link passed for fear that he might be attacked. After passing the hut, Link spun around the corner and into the cave that separated the southern part of Faron Woods from the valley that was filled with poisonous mist. It wasn't until they reached the end of the cave when Midna slapped herself in the forehead. "Why didn't we just warp here? It could have saved us so much time!"

_What's the fun in that? _he thought. _If we just warp everywhere then we don't get to see the world! Besides, it feels weird.  
_

"Hang on, wolfie," she stated excitedly. "I'm getting us there now!"

Link held back a whine as Midna focused her power and warped them to the northern part of Faron Woods. Link bolted forward and surprised Midna so much that she fell off. He stopped and glared back at her as if to say, "_That's what you get for warping me places__._"

"You stupid dog!" she yelled and climbed onto his back again. "What was that for?!"

Link growled and walked towards the forest temple that they had defeated so long ago. He looked around in hopes of finding a bridge or ledge he could leap onto. Midna floated passed him and showed him a spot to aim for. He jumped across the ravine and entered the vast and mysterious forest. Link looked around the forest, but found no other way out. Then he noticed a Howling Stone. He tilted his head in curiosity. _There was _

_just one outside, _he thought. _Why would there be another one here?  
_

He approached the howling stone and listened carefully to the wind as it whistled the notes. Confidently, he raised his head and howled. Every note was rich with nobility and Link assumed it was written for a royal family. There came a child's laugh from above and a small Skull Kid landed in front of them. Link tilted his head curiously at the child. The Skull Kid laughed again and blew his instrument. The instrument was something Link had never seen before. It was a horn but instead of just one end it had four. Forest Puppets, tall, gangly monsters that jerk awkwardly, fell out of the trees and surrounded Link and Midna. The Skull Kid then ran off through a path that suddenly appeared.

Link and Midna ran through the grove, fighting off puppets and attacking the Skull Kid until he led them into a large clearing and bombarded them with puppets. The whole time he played his horn and laughed at them. The two struggled to make it through to attack him, but he would flit to a new area and taunt them again. Finally the Skull Kid laughed and disappeared laughing. "Hee, hee, hee!" a child's voice rang clear through the trees. "Bye!"

Another pathway opened as his voice faded away. Midna felt grumpy after the fight and was upset that their mission to destroy Zant was taking so long. She just wanted to finish and go back to the Twilight realm. She growled darkly as Link made his way up the path. They stopped suddenly as they entered a clearing. The two of them marvelled at the ancient temple above them. Link found his jaw hanging open embarrassingly wide and snapped it shut. Looking down, he noticed the Triforce painted on the floor. He heard the majestic and royal song ring through the wind. Lifting his head, he howled the tune and felt a warm sensation run through his body.

Suddenly everything went dark around him except for the Triforce beneath him. The two statues guarding a blocked doorway began to glow and jumped so one was in front of him and the other was behind him. The ground was split into twenty tiles and the statues began to speak. "We are guardians of this land... Guide us to where we once stood. Only then can you enter the true Sacred Grove."

Link froze. How could he figure this out? Midna sighed and smacked his head.

"What would you do without me?" she laughed.

She levitated above Link and looked down upon the tiles. She carefully directed him along the tiles until the guardians were back in their original spots. A door in front of them opened and the statues spoke once again, "Go now to the sacred place, beast. We yield passage to the Sacred Grove."

After climbing up the stairs Link gazed upon the Master Sword. The sunlight above reflected on the blade in a serene yet powerful light. He was amazed by its mere existence. He had only heard rumours of the legendary blade. Slowly, he crept closer.

The very tip of his nose touched the blade and light exploded from it. Midna was thrown back screaming, but Link remained where he was. He growled and barked at the sword until it soon engulfed him in light. The change was sudden and painless. When Midna was finally able to look up again she was startled to see a human where the wolf used to be. He grabbed the Master sword and lifted it out of the pedestal. Sudden warmth filled his veins and he smirked. He twirled the sword around in his hand a few times and held it out to arms length. It was a good blade indeed. Midna stared at him in amazement and gasped. "The Master Sword accepted you as its master."

A slow, quiet clapping came from behind Link. "Well done, brother," a dark, amused voice reached his ears.

Link turned to face his twin brother, Dark Link. He continued to clap sarcastically until he was ten feet away from Link. "I guess I should be proud of my little brother." he sarcastically.

"I guess you should," Link answered, sheathing the Master Sword. "But I'm guessing you're not."

"Oh no, I'm proud," Dark Link laughed. "Maybe now you'll put up a decent fight."

"I'm not going to fight you, Xellic," Link replied with a sigh and began to walk past him.

"Why not? You'll fight Diababa, Fyrus and Morpheel, but you won't fight your own brother."

"I won't fight because I know a fight is exactly what you want. You have a problem and you need to deal with it without me," Link answered and turned to leave. "Midna, let's go."

They were about to leave the area when Xellic spoke again, "Were you ever curious, brother, to know how Zant knew where you were?"

Link froze. "It's not that difficult," Midna scoffed, unfazed. "Anyone from the Twilight Realm can do it."

"Yes, but who told him that the Twilight Princess was on the move? Who told him that someone was trying to stop him?"

Link looked at Midna. _Twilight Princess? Midna? No..._

Midna growled to herself and said, "Zant has always been after me. It's not much of a surprise to know he's watching me."

Xellic laughed. "Don't give me that, Princess! You and I both know that Zant had no idea you were here. I told him that my dear baby brother was getting help from someone from the Twilight Realm."

Midna screeched and lunged for Xellic. "Midna!" Link cried. "No!!"

Link grabbed her around her impish waist and shoved her to the ground. He felt Xellic's sword strike the shield that was strapped to his back. He rolled around and jumped up, still holding Midna back. Xellic's red eyes were wild and crazed. The Shadow Sword and black Hylian Shield were in his hands. There was no avoiding it now, they had to fight. Midna was struggling in Link's arms, cursing. "Shut up, Midna," Link hissed. "Stay back."

Xellic watched his brother draw the Master Sword and put the Hylian Shield in place on his arm. "Come, Link!" he yelled hysterically, a sadistic grin on his face. "Let's see how much you've learned since we last met!"

Xellic attacked before Link was able to fully prepare himself. He managed to lift the shield just enough to keep the blade from piercing his heart. Link stumbled back. Xellic spun and slammed his shield into Link's and watched him go flying a few feet away. Sighing, he put his own sword and shield away again. "You disappoint me, brother. Maybe in a few years you'll be a worthy fighter" Xellic turned to leave, but found Midna blocking his way. She was growling menacingly.

"I'm going to kill you!" she shrieked and jumped at Xellic again.

Xellic merely reached out and grabbed Midna by her throat. Her magic floated around her but could not touch him. "You, my princess, are a constant nuisance," he stated calmly. "Excuse me, but I have my own little princess to deal with. I think you know her, don't you? The princess Zelda?"

"You stay away from her!" Midna cried and struggled to free herself from Xellic's grip.

"Trust me, I would," Xellic said in a bored tone. "But it's my job to guard her and lately I've been ignoring my duties."

With that he threw Midna at Link, knocking him over again. "I'll see you later, little brother."

Xellic then turned into a wolf that was pure white except for blood stains that covered his muzzle and chest. It was apparent that he took pride in the people he'd killed. He took off; his speed and grace surprising for someone who was so cruel in every situation. Midna sat up and began to grind her teeth. "Your brother's a jackass."

Link sat up too. "I know," he whispered. "I know."

- - - - -

Xellic ran up the hundreds of steps that led to Princess Zelda's room with ease. He skidded to a halt and sighed exasperatedly. He was so close to slipping back in without being noticed. He quickly changed back into his human form and turned to face a demon-like human that was a bit taller than Xellic. Ganondorf had flaming orange hair and beard and his eyes were close to the same color. He wore black armour that matched his black skin and a gold crown of sorts. "Where have you been, Xellic?" he asked coldly.

"Don't give me that tone," Xellic rolled his eyes. "You sound like my mother."

Ganondorf flew forward, grabbed Xellic by the neck, and slammed him against the wall. "How's this for you, human? Motherly enough for you? You have neglected your duties and allowed Link to get in twice! I could have killed him by now if it weren't for you!"

"No one kills my younger brother but me!" Xellic snapped. "And I will be right by his side, _helping _him until I know that he's safe so _I_ can kill him!"

"Insolence!" Ganondorf screamed and threw Xellic against the opposite castle wall. "I will kill _anyone_ who gets in the way of my goal! And if that includes you or your dear little brother, so be it!"

"You won't kill me!" Xellic laughed with the same sadistic smile he had while fighting Link. "I know things you would only dream of. And I know that once I tell you, you'll kill me! So get out of my way, you sand dweller."

Xellic pushed by the other man and began up the stairs again. He was used to this. He sighed and ruffled his black hair before opening the door to Zelda's room. She whipped around, wide eyed and panicked. Xellic snickered. "Calm down, Princess, it's only me."

Zelda sat down on her bed, clutching her chest. "You haven't been here in a couple weeks." she said quietly. "Where were you?"

"Don't give me that tone," Xellic rolled his eyes and smirked. "You sound like my mother."

Zelda blushed fervently. "What... what happened to your parents?

Xellic blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected that. He expected an apology of some kind but not this. He sat down on the floor, crossed his legs, and looked up at her. "Why do you want to know about my parents? No one's ever cared about my life."

Zelda blushed again and looked away. "While you were gone I thought of things we could talk about... I didn't want to be stuck in another awkward situation... like last time."

Xellic sighed and looked at the ceiling before saying, "Eighteen years ago my mother gave birth to twin boys who were complete opposites and born within four hours of each other. The first son was born strong with black hair and red eyes, and the first one to learn the way of the sword and shield. The second son was born weak—brown hair, blue eyes and pathetic when it comes to the art of fighting. But he was always the favourite. Mother and father would boast about how perfect Link was and what a good boy he was... It was always Link this and Link that and Link's so perfect—almost as if they didn't have another son. But when they did notice me it was always to point out my shortcomings and compare me to my brother_._" he paused a moment before continuing, "The other Ordonians noticed that I was being treated differently. They warned my parents that treating children differently would lead to something dangerous. My parents didn't care. They didn't think that I would grow strong enough to kill them."

Zelda gasped and put a hand over her mouth. "You... You _killed_ your parents?"

Xellic shrugged and smirked. "Surprisingly, no," he answered and looked down from the ceiling to his hands. His expression changed from amusement to disgust. "I should have. I really should have. No, my parents were the village guardians. Ordon was rarely attacked because there was never anything to gain by attacking it. The most anyone would get is cheese and some good meat. Anyway, the village was attacked by a group of bandits. My parents were trying to fight them off, but both of them were struck down. I saved them. I killed the bandits attacking the village and _saved _my parents. My mother was severely wounded. My father was left with a badly injured arm. On the morning my mother passed on, my father kicked me out and blamed me for my mother's death. He said that I should have come faster and fought harder. He didn't care that my mother was already badly wounded when I got there. I left, but didn't give my father a scratch. I don't know how he died. But when I returned to Ordon he was dead. I never asked anyone exactly how... I suspected the old man's heart gave out, but I never really cared."

"There was nothing you could have done, though. It wasn't your fault that the bandits came," Zelda replied softly.

"The world isn't as fair when you live outside these walls, Princess."

Xellic stood up and stretched and Zelda rose as well. Though they were twins, Xellic stood about two feet taller than Link and about a foot taller than Zelda.

"Why do you hate your brother if your father was the one who banished and blamed you?" She asked.

Xellic shook his head. "That's another story for a different time, Princess." he replied. "I'll come by later."

He transformed back into the white wolf and was gone without another word. Zelda watched him go and sat back down on her bed. Once again the feeling of loneliness set into her heart.

"Goodbye..." she whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

Link was welcomed back to Ordon Village with open arms. The villagers ran to him for news of the children. Link calmed them with soothing words and told them they were still safe in Kakariko Village. He also informed them that Ilia was safe, but that unfortunately her memory had left her. She had no idea who she was or where she came from. He told them nothing of Xellic and his apparent taste for blood. And he told them nothing of his ability to change into a wild animal.

He stopped by the mayor's home to deliver the news of his daughter and to refill his supplies. Ordon Goat milk was one of those things. It was a good pick-me-up, and gave a little more energy in a desperate situation. He heard a call from the hawk that always answered to the whistle grass. He looked up and saw him flying towards the small island further down the river. Link ran up the rock and dived in after the bird. _What are you doing?_ He heard Midna say inside his head. It was the only way they could communicate when she was in his shadow. _We need to go!_

Link ignored her and swam until he could climb onto the ledge by the island. The bird was sitting on a rock, waiting for him. Midna sighed and turned him back into the wolf form. "Welcome back, Link." he said. "You've certainly been away long."

"I've been busy, Horus." Link sat in front of the hawk. "There is still plenty to do before I can bring Hyrule back to a peaceful state."

"Indeed you do... you also have a brother to defeat."

A growl erupted from Link's throat. "I will find him. And I will kill him for what he did to my mother."

"Oh yes, I'm sure that little scene in the sacred forest was exactly what you had in mind of revenge."

Link growled again. "I wasn't going to battle him while I'm still learning all of the hidden skills!"

"Xellic learned those skills the second Hyrule was taken over by twilight!" Horus snapped. "Ever since he learned the way of the sword he was searching for the howling stones. I watched him find them all. As soon as he became that beast he went to them and learned the skills. Then he joined the stronger side, the side he knew would kill him if he opposed them. He gave them information, Link."

"Information?" Link stood from his sitting position. "What kind of information?"

"I don't know. He said it was something ancient, something only he would know."

"Xellic's thinking hard and he's on the move. He's not going to stay loyal to Zant forever."

"That was no shadow dweller!" The hawk said in a panic. "That was a son of the Sand People."

Link's ears perked up. A son of the Sand? That didn't make sense. Midna kicked him in the side. "We have to get moving, Link. We're losing the light."

Link nodded and looked at the hawk one last time. "'Till we meet again, Link." Horus nodded and Link nodded back.

With that Midna kicked him again. "Link, there's something I need to ask you. I meant to ask it when we were in the Sacred Forest, but Xellic interrupted us oh so rudely." she said sadly as Horus flew off. "Would you mind helping me find something called the Mirror of Twilight? It's hidden somewhere in Hyrule. It's our last potential link to Zant."

Link nodded. Midna smiled, an actual smile and not a cruel smirk, and sat back on his back. "Unfortunately," she sighed. "I have no idea where to start."

Link thought a moment. Where would he have to go? _Who_ would he have to go to? His mind spun for a second then his eyes snapped open. Telma. _Midna,_ he thought, knowing she would hear his thoughts as long as they were directed at her. _Take us to the Castle Town!_

Midna warped them. For once he didn't notice the strange feeling or warping or turning back into a human. He raced through the city to get to Telma's bar. He had to shove a handful of rupees into a beggar's hand and took a mental note to head down the ally next time to avoid him.

Regardless he made it to the bar in a sweat. Telma was talking to three people sitting around a table and passing them drinks. She turned. "Oh my, if it isn't Link." she smiled at him. "You made it! How've you been, honey?"

Link shrugged. "Not too bad. A bit beat up, but still good."

"Mercy, but you have good timing. I was just talking about you." she looked over at the people at the table. "Hey, everyone! Introduce yourselves." They looked over from the table to observe the young hero. "This handsome young man is the infamous Link!"

They all nodded to acknowledge him. Link nodded back and sat in front of Telma as she explained what was going on, handing him a drink as she did so. She mentioned that there was someone else who was observing a disturbance in the dessert.

Link nodded at the news and drank the contents of the goblet in one gulp and immediately regretted it. The hard liquor burned his throat on the way down and made the room spin. It would be hours before he would see straight again. Telma chuckled and put a bottle in his hand. "Take it for the road, sweetie," she winked. "You look like you could use a little drink now and then."

Link smiled and stood up. He stumbled out of the door and clutched to the wall outside the tavern. He'd always been a lightweight. Clumsy in his drunken state he put the bottle in his travel sack and told Midna to warp him to Lake Hylia. She snickered at him as she obliged. The transformation into the wolf and the warping didn't help his spinning head. He took one step and fell over.

Midna floated off his back and sat cross-legged in the air. She shook her head at him. "How far are we going to get if you can't handle your liquor?" she snickered. For once she didn't seem irritated that their journey was put on hold.

Link whined slightly and tried to stand. He was able to stand at the cost of his head spinning a thousand miles an hour. He sat and closed his eyes. Keeping his eyes shut so he wouldn't have to watch the world spin he ran forward until he lost his footing and fell into the cold water of the lake. He sank down and opened his eyes. The water pressed against him and so did the darkness.

"Link? Link. LINK!!!"

Link jerked up and clutched his head in pain. It felt like someone was taking a sledge hammer to his skull. "Not so loud," he said softly.

Midna smirked. "Well I _hate_ to interrupt on your little nap," she said in a deliberately loud voice. Link's head pounded. "But we need to get going and find this Auru guy."

Link stood and looked around. It was dusk and Midna had found them shelter in the entrance to the sprit spring. He was human again. He looked up at the setting sun, shielding his eyes. In doing so he saw an old observing tower and a man staring out into the distance.

Link started making his way up the hills to get to the man. On the way he took out his map and marked an unusual looking piece of rock. Then he continued until he made it up to the tower. The man didn't turn. "I thought it was about time you arrived." he said and turned. "Master Link, is it?"

Auru was an elderly but strong looking Hylian. His hair was thin and so was the beard on his face. Link could tell he was wise and knew much about the world.

"You do know Telma, do you? I am Auru. I am a part of the group that Telma kindly allows to meet at her bar. I have heard about your deeds from her. Now you, being a courageous youth, have most likely heard about the strange events in the desert and come to investigate, no?" he watched Link quizzically. "Or am I mistaken?"

Link shook his head. "I am here to do something about this. Assuming it helps me on my journey."

Auru nodded and motioned for Link to take a good look at the great desert before them. In the distance, great towers could be seen. "The Gerudo Desert," Auru started. "Once held a prison that held the worst criminals this land has ever known. The criminals who were sentenced to death were sent directly to the underworld by a cursed mirror that was kept in the prison."

_He must be talking about the Mirror of Twilight!_ Midna said excitedly in his head.

Link ignored her and continued to listen to Auru. "Now that prison is condemned and even the road that leads to it is impassable. This desert at world's end... it still holds that cursed mirror and the malice of the doomed inmates." Auru sighed and shifted slightly. "These old bones know that the evil currently plaguing Hyrule is related to this wicked place. So I have come to learn the truth... Master Link, I must ask... what will you do now? Don't tell me you plan to enter the desert and confirm my suspicions with your own eyes?!"

Link sighed. "Auru, you must understand that if I am to stop the evil in Hyrule I must go there."

Auru looked at Link long and hard. Finally he took something out of his pocket. "A man named Fyer runs an amusement ride of sorts down in Lake Hylia below us. Give him this." He handed Link the letter. "See, long ago I saved this man's life, and now he cannot refuse me if I ask a favor. If you leave this up to Fyer, all should go well."

"Thank you, Auru. I pray we will meet again."

"Good luck."

Link started his way down the ladder of the tower and tried to ignore Midna's excited voice in his head. _We're so close Link!_ She said. _ So close! I can almost see it already!!_

- - - - -

Xellic looked at the stairs while sitting on the roof just above Zelda's room. He was thinking, not of killing his brother, not of killing anyone... but of what Zelda had done to him. She was the first one in years to ask him about his family. He wasn't sure how he was going to answer her question. _Why do you hate your brother if your father was the one who banished and blamed you?_ He wasn't sure how to put it without sounding like an idiot.

She did care, he could see that. She was scared of him, but wanted to know about him so she wouldn't be scared any more. It seemed like an evil plan to him. It completely baffled him when she asked him what had happened to his parents. It surprised him even more when he realized that she actually cared.

He knew the answer to all her questions... the only question _he _had was how much information he should give her before she started using it against him. He had no idea. He didn't know what to do. It was just too confusing.

"_**XELLIC!!!!!"**_

Xellic was broken from his reverie to hear Ganondorf's unmistakable voice that just made Xellic's day _every _time he heard it. He sighed and called back very sarcastically. "Yes mommy?"

"Where the hell are you?! You're supposed to be guarding the girl!!!"

Xellic sighed and jumped down from the roof and on to the balcony. "Ok, mommy, I'm home!!"

Xellic's smirk faded when he looked up into Ganondorf's eyes. He was shaking and his eyes were blazing. Zelda was curled up in the corner wide eyed and scared half to death. Ganondorf snarled loud and clear as if Xellic had slapped him in the face. "I am getting really sick of this disobedience. One more and you can forget about seeing the next day again."

"We had a deal!" Xellic snapped. "I would give you..."

"_I DON'T CARE WHAT KIND OF INFORMATION YOU HAVE!!!"_ Ganondorf screamed. A red light blasted from him and surrounded his body. A shiver ran down Xellic's spine. _"IF YOU DO NOT START SHOWING SOME RESPECT THEN NO MATTER WHAT KIND OF INFORMATION YOU HAVE TO SHARE I WILL KILL YOU!!!!!!!"_

Ganondorf left the room with the same red aura still hovering around him. Xellic heard the door at the bottom of the stairs close and realized he was shaking all over. He slumped to his knees, still shaking. Ganondorf scared him and he knew that would never change. He was sure he could defeat him, but at what cost? How badly would he be injured?

Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up into Zelda's eyes. She too was shaking. "Are you ok?" she asked.

Xellic looked deeper into her eyes. She was trying to look calm and unafraid, but he knew as well as she did that she was scared for her life. "You don't need to worry about me. Just worry about yourself."

"He'll kill you though."

Xellic stood up and chuckled nervously. "He'll kill you too if you don't watch out. I can handle myself."

"But if you die then..."

"Then you'll have to get someone who actually cares about you."

"You... you don't care?"

"Why are you so surprised?" Xellic chuckled.

He looked at the girl to see her almost in tears. He sighed. "Princess, sit down for a second." Zelda sat on the bed and Xellic collapsed beside her. He moved back to lean against the wall. "You asked me last night why I hate Link if it was my father who kicked me out and the bandits who killed my mother. Honestly it was because I wasn't the best brother to him. I hated him because he was the perfect one. I did everything to get my parents to love me the way they loved him. The difference was that he didn't do anything to gain their love except exist. So... I... exploited him... I pointed out his flaws in everything. I laughed in his face at the fact that he was hired to help Fado with the ranch other than become a protector of the village like me. The village thought it a great honor to protect Ordon. I hoped that maybe if Link spent more time on the ranch and less time at home and I got more time with my parents they'd warm up to me... but it never happened. I'm pretty sure that was the intent of Fado when he hired Link."

Xellic sighed and noticed Zelda looking more interested than he would have thought. He smiled a bit and moved slightly closer. "What happened? I mean..." Zelda moved closer and touched his shoulder. "What did your parents do?"

"What do you expect? They trained me and treated me like dirt. And don't say that I didn't try because I sure as hell tried. I was a little more successful with my mother than father... And I think that was why... why..."

"What? What happened?"

Zelda's grip on his shoulder became painfully tight. Xellic sighed. "It doesn't matter. My stories never end in 'Happily Ever After.'"

Her face fell but nodded. She curled up beside him and laid her head on his shoulder. Xellic looked confused but hesitantly put an arm around her shoulders. She sighed and closed her eyes. "You know, Xellic," she said in a drowsy whisper. "I would have liked to have a brother or sister."

Xellic didn't answer as she fell asleep on his shoulder. He was very hesitant to push her off him; he was afraid that might wake her up. He sighed exasperatedly, but pulled a blanket over her while she rested on his shoulder. He looked up at the rook and thought of his parents and brother.

- - - - -

Xellic collapsed, panting. His mother sat beside him and looked around. Without his father around she patted his shoulder. "Good work, son." she whispered.

Xellic looked at her. "Are you serious?

She smiled. "Just don't tell your father."

The young Xellic pulled his knees up to his chest and looked at the sword he had made for himself. His parents wouldn't make or buy him one. It wasn't that bad... but... it didn't even come close to great, legendary Shadow Sword. "Why do you guys hate me?"

Xellic's mother gasped. She looked around then pulled her eldest son into a warm embrace. "I _don't_ hate you."

"_He _does."

"Xellic... you really must understand something." she whispered. "Your father's brother was much stronger than him. And he killed their father. So he has never been a fan of anyone he knows could succeed him. That includes his very own son."

There was a slam of a door behind them. Xellic's mother shoved him to the ground and screamed, "And you will do well to remember that!"

Xellic resisted a retort and picked up his sword. When he looked back his father was holding his mother by the waist and talking to Link, who had just returned from the ranch. His mother winked and smiled very slightly. Something in his heart glimmered for the slightest of moments.

The next morning Xellic woke to an extremely loud scream. He launched out of bed and looked out the window. _Bandits!_ he thought and jumped from the ledge where he slept. "Link!" he yelled, grabbing his sword from the bedside table. "Link, get your lazy ass out of bed! Mom and dad are in trouble!!"

Link struggled out of his bed and grabbed the sword their parents gave him. Xellic ran out, forgetting about his shirt and jumped from the window in front of the bandit that was about to make the ending blow on his mother. "Don't touch her!" he screamed and blocked the attack.

Several hours later Xellic finally struck the last bandit down. He panted hard but smiled. His mother was alive. And so was he. The bandits were gone, the village was safe. He bent down to examine the blow Link took to his head earlier. He was unconscious, but there was no permanent damage. _Pity,_ he thought sadly. _It would have been nice to be an only child."_

Suddenly there was a scream. Xellic whipped around to see his mother collapse at his father's feet. He pulled his sword from her heart and turned to face him. "Run, Xellic." he snapped. "As far as anyone knows, the bandits killed her. And you never made it in time to save her. Now run."


	3. Chapter 3

Xellic sat up panting. He looked wildly around. What was going on? Where was he? Then he saw her. Zelda. He jumped out of the bed and scrambled as far from her as he could. Did he really fall asleep with her in her arms? Did he...? What _did_ he do? He shook his head wildly. _No,_ he thought. _No, I couldn't. Not that. Not with her._

She shifted in her sleep, her golden hair falling into her face. Slowly he moved forward and began to remember what had happened. He had told her why he hated Link, almost told her why Link hated him. She fell asleep on his shoulder and he had fallen asleep by her side.

He sat on the bed beside her and brushed her gold hair from her face to reveal her seemingly perfect features. He never knew anyone as beautiful as she. The only one who came close was the one girl back at the village, but that was Link's girl. Always was. She was the daughter of the mayor, and he wasn't going to let her marry a murderer.

Wait... marry? Did he _really _just think that? Xellic growled and left Zelda's side to stand out on the balcony. What was happening to him anyway? The ruthless mercenary known as _Dark Link_ seemed to be going soft. He snarled and clenched his hand into a fist, all his knuckled cracking at least three times each.

Just then his keen ears heard the door from the bottom of the stairs open. He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Is she asleep?" Ganondorf asked.

_Does she look asleep, sand-dweller?_ Xellic so dearly wanted to say but decided against it. "Yes sir." he said in a deadly calm voice. "You must have scared her last night."

"Must have scared you too." Ganondorf smirked.

Xellic's grip on the railing tightened. He could feel the stone begin to groan under the strain. He began to focus his energy into not throwing the whole balcony at his commander. "I realized last night that I've been stepping too far out of line. I apologize." _Not in a million years, you bastard._

"I accept," Ganondorf said, watching Zelda calmly. "I have a mission for you, Xellic. Something that you must do beyond the walls of the castle."

"And what is that?"

"You told me how you wanted to be the one to kill your little brother, did you not?"

"Yes, I did. What of it."

"By morning he will be reaching the top of the prison I was once held in. You know, where the Mirror of Twilight is kept." Ganondorf looked up at Xellic. I want you to kill him as quickly as possible. He is growing too strong."

Xellic couldn't help but laugh. He doubled over and tried to force his mouth shut. _Link strong?_ He thought. _Yeah right! Not possible!_

"I'm sorry," he choked back a new wave of laughter. "But _Link_? My _brother_ Link?"

"No, I meant your other twin brother that's opposing me." Ganondorf snapped sarcastically. "He destroyed my fossil."

Xellic clicked his tongue against his teeth and raised an eyebrow. "A fossil?"

Ganondorf nodded.

"You mean one of those ancient dead skeleton things?"

He nodded again.

Xellic managed to resist his laugh this time. He continued to stare at Ganondorf with his eyebrow raised. "I'll get right on it."

Ganondorf growled, knowing Xellic was mocking him, but left the tower without saying anything. Xellic sat back down beside Zelda on her bed and touched her face gently. Though he was not a religious person, but he quickly prayed that she would be safe while he was gone anyway. He didn't trust anyone in the castle to keep her safe from Ganondorf... or themselves. She had no way to defend herself. Her sword was taken when Zant took over the castle and clouded the land of Hyrule in shadow. Xellic himself already had to fight off a few of Ganondorf's men who were the pig-headed type and had a taste for a woman's screams, and that was just after he joined the sand-dweller.

Xellic sighed and climbed onto the roof and began to make his way down to the Castle Town and then to the Arbiter's Grounds in the Gerudo Desert.

- - - - -

Link panted heavily and picked the spinner up again. He was lucky that time. Midna was right to have told him to catch a fairy when he had the chance. He had passed out and would have died if it weren't for the little life saver. He walked across the new bridge and found himself out side at the top of the Arbiter's Grounds. He made his way shakily up the stairs. He probably wouldn't survive another battle unless it was something easy like one of the bublins or bokoblins.

Link emerged to the top of the Arbiter's Grounds and saw the ancient Mirror Chamber. One of the great Goddesses stood in the middle carrying a live flame and spirals around her body. Link could only think that he had to use the spinner.

As he approached the great goddess statue, the pillars that looked like charred wood landed with a loud thud in front of him. He gasped and looked to the sky where he knew the shadow creatures would fall and fight him. As Midna turned him smoothly into a wolf he counted them. One... two... three... four... five... Five of them. Link gulped and a whimper escaped his throat. He still had no energy from fighting Stallord.

He focused on the first two and killed them swiftly. As he turned to take the other three on, one of them ran at him and took a swipe at him, sending him flying into the barrier. Link growled weakly and launched at the one who attacked him. He was bleeding now. His energy drained fast as the last two approached him, one behind the other, ready to revive the others. _I need to get in the middle._ He thought desperately and started to inch away from the closest creature. After a few feet he was closer to the middle but still too far from the one. He inched further back, trying not to move too suddenly which would make the shadow creature run at him. A few more feet and he figured he was close enough. He concentrated on using Midna's power and cast a field around him and one of the creatures. _Damn!!_ He cried in his head. _ Just a few more feet..._ Suddenly he lost control of Midna's power and felt himself striking the one shadow creature, but not the second.

Link collapsed. This was the end. No more. The last creature would raise the others and they would kill him. He heard the creature start to roar its 'song', as Midna called it, of life. But there was a ferocious snarl and the song was turned quickly into a scream of pain. Link, who had slipped back into his human form, looked around. Standing over the lifeless body of the creature was the pure white wolf. It was covered in more blood stains, but these ones disappeared as the creatures formed into a portal. Xellic turned to link and walked forward, also turning back to human as he did. Link struggled to stand, but his knees gave out. _Great,_ he thought bitterly. _Not killed by those things but killed by my brother._

Midna screamed and floated to Xellic to defend Link. Xellic just slapped her away. "Relax, princess," he sighed. "I'm not here to kill him."

Link then saw his brother's hand in front of his face. Link looked up, confused. Xellic was not amused, but seemed sincere. "No one kills you but me. And when I kill you, I want you fresh and ready for the fight. Not weak and taken out by some other creature. Most of all I want you trained so the fight will be interesting. Taking on Stallord shouldn't take this much energy."

"I'm sorry I'm such a disappointment to you." Link snarled. "I'll remember to tell mom and dad that when you kill me."

Link shook as he stood, not accepting Xellic's hand. Again his knees gave out from under him. Xellic grabbed his elbow roughly and pulled him up again. "First of all, I couldn't care less what _he_ thought of me. Second... I think mother would be more interested why you believed _his_ story without bothering to listening to me."

"Why would I listen to _your_ side of the story?" Link pushed himself away, suddenly feeling enough energy in his body to stand on his own. _"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO _KILLED_ HER!!!"_

Xellic looked at his brother calmly, though rage boiled in his blood at Link's words. He watched him collapse again as the adrenalin in his body faded. "I didn't kill our mother. She was the only one who gave a crap."

"Mom didn't care about you anymore then anyone else did. And that's why you killed her! Because you thought she would have been different but she _wasn't_!"

"Around you and our father, no, she was no different than you or father. But when it was just us, well..." Xellic looked up at the goddess statue. "I guess you're heading up there, aren't you?"

Link nodded, only because he didn't know what else to do. He pulled the spinner out and limped towards the statue. Xellic grabbed his shoulder. "You're never going to make it up there on your own."

"Well it's not like you're going to help."

Xellic laughed. "I was sent here to kill you. Under _those_ circumstances no, I wouldn't. But I already told you, I'm _not_ going to kill you until you're strong enough to make it interesting. So I _am_ going to help you."

Link stared, confused at him. "What?"

"Ganondorf wants you dead. So do I but I don't want to kill you yet. So here's the deal." Xellic took the spinner from Link's hand and helped him limp to the foot of the statue. They stood on the spinner together, Xellic holding Link on his feet. "I'm going to go back to the castle and tell Ganondorf that you're dead, and so it the Twilight Princess. With this he'll relax and stop over looking ever single detail of the lands. This will give you and Midna a chance to fly in unnoticed and finish what you're doing. When you invade the castle I will leave Zelda up to you and _I_ will kill Ganondorf. He's too strong for you too destroy now. Or even in a few months."

"How do I know you're not leading me into a trap?"

"Christ you're dumb!" Xellic chuckled. "I'm not the trap leading kind of person in most cases. You're in such a weak position that if I wanted you dead _now_ I would have done it already. I would have done it a long time ago. I know it's a hard concept, but you're going to have to trust me on this."

Link didn't answer right away. Xellic was right, if he _had_ wanted him dead by then, then he would have never had met Midna. He looked into Xellic's dark eyes. "What exactly is the plan?"

Xellic smirked. "I assume what you're looking for is the Mirror of Twilight. Am I right?" Link nodded and Xellic continued. "Zant, the one who took over the Twilight after exiling Midna, broke it. He couldn't obliterate it because he's not the true ruler of the Twilight so he could only break it into four pieces. The piece that remains here, one in the far north, one in the Temple of Time and one in the heavens."

Midna gasped at this. "You mean..." she said.

Xellic sighed. "Yes... there is no possible way you can defeat Zant right now. You can't get back home, Midna."

Slowly Midna sank until she was sitting on the sand covered and wind blasted roof of the Arbiter's grounds. She had gone pail (which was a weird look on her considering she was a black creature of twilight) and was obviously speechless. Link bent down and touched her small shoulder. Xellic looked hastily around. "Look," he said quickly. "We don't have much time. If you undo this statue, then Ganondorf will know I helped you instead of killed you. So go to the places I told you about and get the rest of the mirror. _Then_ come back. By then I'll have a plan to get Zelda out of there . Then you can protect her while I kill Ganondorf, then _I'll_ protect her while you kill Zant and regain your throne in the Twilight realm."

"What happens to Zelda?" Midna whispered hoarsely.

"I negotiate my freedom and worm my way out of being hanged in the courtyard of the castle town."

"You're wanted by the kingdom?" Link asked.

"Are you surprised?"

"No... impressed."

The brothers looked at each other for a few seconds then looked away. "I'll be waiting, Link... don't screw up." Xellic finally said and jumped off the statue, turning into that white, bloodstained wolf on his way down.

"Isn't it funny," Link said, smiling a little. "How the evil brother turned into the white wolf? White being the symbol of purity? And me... I'm the good brother and I'm a black wolf, the symbol of darkness."

"Yeah... real funny." Midna sighed.

Link knelt down. "It's going to be ok, Midna. We have help now. Ganondorf thinks we're dead."

"For now... I'm sorry Link but Xellic's right. You're not strong enough to fight Ganondorf. And what about when we _do_ put the mirror back together? He'll know that Xellic betrayed him. He'll kill him and probably kill Zelda too! Then we've done all of this for NOTHING!!!"

"Midna... if you have no faith in me then have some faith in Xellic. He most likely _knows_ already all of this. He'll think of something."

"And you trust him?"

Link didn't answer to this... to be honest... he didn't know.

- - - - -

Ganondorf waited patiently for Xellic's return. He knew already that he didn't kill Link... but it didn't matter. The last temple, the Arbiter's grounds, nearly killed Link, _would_ have killed him if it weren't for Xellic. The next part of Link's adventure would surely be the end of him. He though of the first place Zant had put the piece of the Mirror of Twilight; the tallest of all the mountains where the Yeti lived. If the cold didn't kill him, the Yeti would.

Second was the Temple of Time. A place Link could get too... but only if he had help from the stone guardians at the entrance. Then he would have to get passed all the obstacles of thousands of years of sitting and waiting for the Hero of Time to come and prove himself. And now that the Mirror was there it would be much, _much_ harder than before.

And finally... the heavens. Though he knew little about the skies, Ganondorf knew what _guarded_ the last piece of the Mirror. That even scared _him_ a little. That thing was affected the most by the Mirror and was the most angry and heartless before the Mirror of Twilight came into play.

There was no way that little and weak Link would be able to get all three Mirror Shards. And even if, by some miracle, Link was able to get all three of them, he would be weak and tired and easily fall prey to the dark magic that was laced in them. Even the Twilight Princess wouldn't be able to save him.

- - - - -

It had been a week. Xellic was pacing Zelda's room without much notice to anything around him. Zelda was curled up on her bed watching him. She didn't know what was bothering him, only that he'd been like that since he got back from his last mission and nothing she said made him feel better. Xellic was in his own mind. _What if Link doesn't survive? What if he dies and I'm stuck here? I can't kill Ganondorf and protect Zelda at the same time!_

"Xellic?" Zelda asked quietly. "What's bothering you?"

Xellic shrugged and continued to pace. They had gotten into a good friendship, but it was still difficult for him to open up to her. He was afraid of scaring her. He didn't want that. Zelda huffed, angrily. "You can tell me, you know. I won't judge."

Xellic sat down beside her. "I know, I'm sorry." He sighed. "I'm just not used to being able to open up to someone before."

"Tell me what's wrong." Zelda inched closer.

Xellic looked into her blue eyes much like Link's... but wiser. "I'm worried that I won't be able to protect you from Ganondorf." He sighed.

Zelda looked a bit taken aback, like she didn't see it coming. He stood up and started pacing again. They waiting in silence for what felt like an eternity until Xellic couldn't handle it any longer. "Look, I know it sounds crazy, but... I need you to stay safe. I would never forgive myself if I let something happen to you."

"Xellic... I..."

Xellic moved forward and took her hand tightly in his. "You're my responsibility, Zelda. And I'm not going to let anyone hurt you."

Zelda looked into his eyes, shocked. What had gotten into him? He worked for Gannondorf and now it seemed he was willing to die for her. _Does..._ She thought to herself. _Does he... love me?_


	4. Chapter 4

_To my readers... this is a filler chapter. This chapter doesn't have much to the actual story except for a little more information on Link's and Xellic's childhood. So read if you want but except for the first couple paragraphs you could easily skip to the next chapter._

Link chuckled slightly. He'd made it to the top of the tallest mountain in Hyrule, collected another secret from the howling stones, met and raced Yeto the Yeti to his house on the other side of the summit, discovered a soup that tastes better and refreshes him more than goat milk and collected a shard of the mirror after defeating a demonic form of Yeta, Yeto's wife created by the mirror shard itself all in less than a week. He was feeling great about his progress and had convinced Midna to have a rest and have a proper meal for once before moving on to the next point where another member of Telma's group was waiting. Luckily it was the entrance to the Sacred Grove where they could warp most of the way.

So Link lay in a real bed for the first time in he couldn't even remember when. His face was down in the pillow waiting for the innkeeper to bring the double meal he promised. Midna was curled comfortably on a cushioned chair but looked angry anyway. "Link, don't you even care about Zelda anymore? We shouldn't be here! We should be moving along!"

"Midna, we've been through this a thousand times. I care about what happens to Zelda and I care about what happens to both our worlds! But I'm tired. If I don't rest properly for one night how do you know the next temple isn't going to kill me?" Link groaned with his face still in the pillow.

"And how do you know that while we're lying here doing nothing, Ganondorf's not killing Zelda?"

"Xellic's there. He needs her alive, remember?"

"How do you know he hasn't already killed them both?"

"Then there's not much I can do now is there?" Link looked over at the Twilight princess. "If he's already killed them both then he did it while we were fighting Yeta. There's nothing we could have done no matter what we're doing. We were too far away from Castle Town and had we left we probably would have lost the shard. Not only that but she would have killed Yeto. And how do you expect us to get into the castle with that barrier around it? There's nothing we can do right now but rest and move on. I know you have more energy considering you have a substantial amount of power, but I have limited power. I need to rest. Xellic will take care of himself and the princess."

Midna huffed but said no more. She knew he was right. There wasn't much to do until Link wasn't so tired. After a little while there was a knock on the door and Link dragged himself to the door, opened it and took the food from the innkeeper. He bowed and left without saying anything much. Link feasted and whatever he didn't eat he wrapped up and put back into his travel pack his parents gave to him. It was a magic bag that had had no bottom to it and was just as light as an empty bag.

Ignoring Midna's glares he pulled off his tunic and crawled under the blankets. He needed sleep. A nice, long, uninterrupted sleep that would complete his resting. He was asleep not much longer after his head hit the pillow.

- - - - -

Link was five years old. He watched his mother prepare dinner and happily hugged her legs whenever she wasn't holding anything she might drop and hurt either herself or him. She laughed every time and often gave him small jobs to do while she was cooking. His father was at the table entertaining the family with news of the outside world. The King and Queen of Hyrule's child had turned four and the land was in more peace than it ever has before.

The only silence came from a corner where Link's brother was reading a book in ancient Hylian. Something he'd learned from one of the traders. It was a dying language that the everyday people were forgetting. Link hadn't even begun to learn modern Hylian yet. But Xellic had mastered reading and writing in both languages. Not only that but he was learning to read the language of the sand people from a book he got from the same trader who taught him ancient Hylian. Now that _was _a dead language and few people knew how to speak or read it.

Xellic looked up from the book and their eyes met for a few seconds. Link was the first to look away. He was rather scared of his brother. Link was well aware that he was the favourite but didn't like it. He wanted to help make it more even within the family but he knew that if he said anything to their father he'd laugh and torture Xellic even more. But it wasn't like the brothers ignored each other. Often they talked late into the night. Xellic needed someone to vent to about being hated by his parents and someone to share all his knowledge with. He'd even tried to teach Link some ancient Hylian. But Link's brain wasn't interested in those kinds of things. He still tried so his brother wouldn't be outcast by everyone in the family all the time.

Xellic went back to his book and ignoring their father's loud voice. Their father didn't even notice the brief connection the brothers had. Their mother finally sighed in satisfaction and called her husband and two sons for dinner. She carried the dishes of food to the table and sat down. The father sat on the other side, Link sat on her left and Xellic sat on her right. They ate in silence, something they always did. No one uttered a word until they had all finished eating. As usual, Xellic finished first. He didn't eat much. Their father was determined to make sure Link was bigger than Xellic. At the moment they were relatively the same size in height and weight.

Xellic quietly cleared his plate and then came back to the table where he politely waited for his parents to excuse him from the table. His mother did so without looking at him. He stood up and returned to the corner where he continued reading. After a little while their father stopped eating. Link tensed. He knew that the only reason their father would stop something would be because Xellic was doing something that was bugging him... with or without reason. "What are you reading there, boy?" their father said sarcastically.

Link heard Xellic stop breathing. He didn't say anything for a few minutes. "It's a study of the old history of Hyrule. Old rulers, laws and battles that aren't talked about in these times and forgotten now except for in the royal library."

"Is that so?" their father snorted. "And why would you want to read that?"

Another pause. Xellic was a master of giving answers that their father would accept. But fifty percent of the time he would find a way to get around the acceptance anyway. "I'm hoping that if I study about the ancient warriors and battles it would make me a better warrior in the mind..." Link registered his father's acceptance and prayed Xellic wouldn't say anything else. But before Link could warn him he added something that would make him bitter about the family for the rest of his life. "...And make you proud of me."

The house was then filled with their father's cruel laughter. Xellic's anger was rising but he calmly set the book down and waited for his father to stop laughing. His mother, seeing a conflict arising took Link's hand and took him for a walk outside. Link didn't think that leaving his father and brother alone would be a good idea. Xellic's father stopped laughing as soon as they were gone. He leaned forward and glowered at his older son. "You listen carefully, boy." He snarled. Xellic looked at him calmly. No one would think him younger than fifteen by the look in his eyes. "Reading ain't gonna make me proud of you. There's only one thing that's gonna make me proud of you."

"Is that so, father?" Xellic said coolly. "And what's that?"

"Being Link. Now Link is someone that makes me proud. If you want me to be proud of you then be more like him."

"So you want me to be stupid and weak instead of exploring the lengths of my intellectual and physical abilities?"

His father sat there for a few seconds before standing. Xellic stood too in case he would have to defend himself. "You know, boy." His father said angrily. "I think you've been reading a little too much."

Before Xellic could react his father had reached over him and snatched the book. Xellic reached out for it but his father was too tall. He took the book to the living area where a roaring fire was lit. Xellic gasped and ran in front of the fire. "That's an ancient book! It was one of the first ever written! You can't burn it!"

His father looked at the book again, now looking greedy. "One of the first ever written, huh? Well I bet the King would pay plenty to have it back."

Xellic relaxed his mind but not his body. His father never gave up this easily. His father suddenly turned and threw the book at Xellic. The child caught the heavy book and stumbled back right into the flames of the fire behind him. Xellic yelp and jumped out, rolling on the floor to put out the flames. His father laughed cruelly as he watched Xellic flail on the ground. When his son lay still panting, Xellic's father lifted him up by his collar. Xellic clutched the book and tried to show no fear. "You will never make me proud, boy... I don't know why your mother puts up with you. But you're lucky I love her enough to deal with you too."

With that Xellic was dropped and his father returned to his dinner. A little while later Link and their mother. Xellic had retreated to the bunk beds he shared with Link. He was writing pages and pages of something. His writing was so small it was barely legible but it was neat. When Link came up to bed a few hours later and tried to talk to Xellic but his brother just glared at him and returned to what he was working on.

- - - - -

The twins were ten, three years before the Bandits attack Ordon. Xellic had stopped talking to his family. Link had just been employed by Fado and was given his first horse, Epona for his birthday. Xellic was given more paper, a new quill and ink for he was still writing furiously every night. Anyone would have thought that the gesture sweet considering that the parents actually noticed what their older son was interested in. But the only reason they really got it for him was because the Mayor asked and they needed to prove it somehow if he asked Xellic. Xellic figured it was the kindest thing his parents ever did for him since they gave birth to him and let him live.

Xellic was sitting on the roof of the Mayor's house writing. He'd been copying the many books he had into much smaller copies that would be easier to travel with. He'd been planning to run away since his father pushed him into the fire. It would be any day now. He just needed to finish writing out the books he would leave. He could survive on his own. He wasn't weak like his pathetic brother. The years of his parents ignoring and torturing him had made him hardy and strong. There was nothing they could do to stop him from running now.

Suddenly there was a soft hand on his shoulder. He started and looked around. Ilia smiled at him. He couldn't help but smile back at her. He was the only good thing in his life other than his reading. She sat beside him and looked at what he was working on. He was copying the book he learned to speak the Sand Language from. He was still a bit rusty on it but copying out the book had helped him a lot. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"The usual," he muttered. "Trying desperately to get ready to run away from this village."

Ilia frowned. "Why don't you come stay with my father and me? Your parents are so horrible to you."

Xellic shook his head. "No, I can't. I'm training to become the protector of this village and no matter where I live I'll still have to deal with them. I want to be free from them forever. I hate it here."

Ilia shrugged. "You won't get far without a horse. Your parents will be on your trail and kill you."

"They don't care enough to follow me. They don't even care enough to kill me."

Suddenly Ilia did something that Xellic didn't expect her to do. She hugged him. And there she held him for a few minutes before moving away and back off the roof of her house. Xellic sat there confused for a while before continuing with his writing. He did so much slower. She'd left him confused and oddly happy. He wrote and wrote and wrote until he saw Link come out of the ranch leading Epona. Xellic leapt down and walked quietly on the other side of the horse. Link always looked back at him every once and a while, slightly scared. They said nothing to each other. They arrived at the house together and ate at the same table. Again their father had some bone to pick with Xellic but by now Xellic knew to take it and retreated to his bed in the basement afterwards. When he was about eight his parents moved him to the cellar with a lantern.

That night Xellic looked at the books he needed to finish copying. Other than the one he was copying now he had two others. He figured he's have them all done within a year. Then he would be able to escape the hell. He put all his papers in a thick folder he made from the bark of a tree near the spring. It would at least protect them while he was traveling. He knew that once he was gone his parents would burn everything he owned so he needed to make sure that he had everything that was close to him. Not that there was much.

He put everything he planned on taking in a travel sack under his bed and crawled under the covers. He blew out the flame of his lantern and closed his blood red eyes.

- - - - -

Link was fifteen. He was happy. Surprising for someone whose brother killed his mother and whose father's life was ended due to a weak heart. But despite all that he was happy. He lay on his back on the ranch looking up at the sky. The bright blue bore into his retinas and seemed to light up his whole heart. Since the bandits attacked Ordon two years ago everything seemed better. The mayor had ordered that a gate be built on the village's side of the bridge so they would have more warning at least next time they were attacked.

Epona snorted and whinnied. Link sat up and saw Fado running over to him. He had a look on his face that was something between happiness and fear. "Hey, Link!" he called. "Xellic's back! He's at the gate waiting for you!"

Link stood up slowly. Xellic wasn't supposed to be there. Their father had banished him after he pulled his sword from their mother's heart. Link mounted Epona and rode quickly to the gate. Sure enough Xellic was leaning against one of the ropes that held the bridge up. Silently Link wished Xellic would lose his balance and fall into the unknown. "What are you doing here, Xellic?" Link said sternly.

He looked up and smirked. He'd grown even taller, Link noticed. And a lot stronger. Xellic's arms were huge and the right one was tattooed. He had a sword on his back and a black shield over top of that. "Look at you, baby brother." he chuckled. "Big tough guardian now. No offence but you don't look that strong."

"None taken. I ask again, what are you doing here?"

"What, I can't drop by to see my little brother?"

"You were banished, Xellic. You're not welcome here."

"I have business with the mayor. And I have things from the house I need for my travels. Our father didn't exactly give me any time to grab them when he banished me."

"He didn't want a murdering in his house." Link snarled.

Xellic's eyes darkened. He stood up straight from leaning against the rope. "I did not kill her." He said slowly and darkly. "Our father killed her because she didn't yell at me like he did. Now I have business here. Open the damn gate or I'll open it for you."

Link did not flinch. He wasn't scared of his brother anymore. But he wasn't taking any chances. "The sword stays here with me. Then you can enter." He said.

Xellic growled but unstrapped the sword from his back. He tossed his expertly over the gate and into Link's hands. Holding it firmly he dismounted Epona and opened the gate. Xellic looked down at his brother once before brushing past and followed the path to the village. Link led his horse back to the house where he left her and continued to follow his brother. Link knew he was dangerous and wasn't going to give him chance to attack anyone. "Xellic!" cried Ilia from the mayor's home.

Link swore it was one of the few times his brother ever smiled. Ilia raced forward and hugged Xellic around his waist. There Link could truly see how tall his brother was. He was about six feet tall which was monstrous size for someone of Ordonian descent. He was even taller than the few Hyrulian soldiers Link has seen. Xellic squeezed Ilia for a second before letting go and proceeding to face the mayor who seemed slightly scared of the tall boy who used to sit on top of his house.

An hour later Xellic came out and walked to the house he used to live at with his parents and his brother. Link let him in and he walked straight to the cellar. He was surprised to find a box full of his books and writings and early plans for escaping Ordon. He was sure his father would burn them all after he was sure he wasn't coming back. He remembered the satisfying feeling he had when he'd finished writing out all the books he owned. He also remembered the awful feeling he got when he realised too late that he didn't have them. He picked up the back he was using to hold his papers and pulled out the bark folder. They were only slightly brown from age, but otherwise they were in perfect condition.

When Xellic climbed out of the cellar Link glared at him. "That's it?" he scoffed. "I was sure you'd take something more elaborate than those damn papers you had."

Xellic patted the papers lovingly. "These papers kept me from killing our father, you know."

"Like you killed our mother."

Xellic patted the papers again but didn't answer. His eyes were dark and malicious but he found no point in repeating something he knew Link would never believe. He left the house without another word. He took the sword from Link and left the village. No death or destruction. Just simple business. Link locked the gate and watched his brother cross the bridge. When Xellic was out of sight Link mounted Epona once again and returned to the ranch.

- - - - -

The twins woke from the same dream. Neither of them knew the other was dreaming. They both looked upon sleeping princesses and wondered if they would live long enough to see them rule their kingdoms once again.


	5. Chapter 5

Xellic sat in Zelda's room conjugating verbs in his head in the sand language. It was something he's done before dozens of times when he was bored and lately he's been so bored he's memorized the entire list. And that was a _long_ list. "I'm bored," Zelda said after five hours of waiting.

"Yeah, me too," Xallic yawned and gave up on trying to remember what _clinean_ meant.

"Is there _anything_ we can do?"

"Sorry, kiddo," he said. _What the hell is Link doing?_ He added to himself. _ It's been three damn weeks._

Zelda sighed and went to her balcony. She leaned against it and took a breath of the fresh night air. "You know I can get in trouble for you being out there." Xellic called.

"Where am I going to go?" she retorted. "There are guards everywhere, plus the barrier and I've got nowhere to go even if I do get out. All my magic is in Midna now, I've got nothing left."

Xellic held up his hand in submission and followed her out onto the balcony. He too leaned against it. She sighed again. "My father and I used to do this all the time."

"What, sit on a balcony and sigh?" he chuckled.

She ignored him. "We used to stand outside his office balcony and talk about our people and what I should remember for when I had to take over as queen of Hyrule. It was fun."

"Yeah, well your dad's in for a treat when he gets home, even if all this is over by then. No offence but I'll be using you to earn my freedom in Hyrule."

"None taken," she replied coldly. "But you can have your freedom without threatening my life. My dad is dead. Zant killed him."

Xellic suddenly felt horrible. He had no idea, he was never told and she never told him. "I'm sorry... I..."

"It's not a problem." She turned so she was leaning her back against the railing and crossed her arms. "He died nobly. He was first in line when the attack started and was the very first down. I'll be crowned as queen as soon as I have my lands back." she paused for a moment. "If I get my lands back." she added quietly.

"You will," Xellic said just as quietly. "Trust me."

"Why?" she snapped. "You have a better deal going for you working for Ganondorf."

"HA!" For the first time in a while Xellic laughed hysterically. "I'm only working for the sand-dweller because it got me close to my only chance of freedom in Hyrule. I don't trust any of them."

"Why's that? They were a noble people before they died off."

"Yeah, their 'friends' probably killed them all." After seeing her confused look he continued. "The word 'friend' in the old sand language is spelled A-T-H-O-L-E. The rough pronunciation of it is 'asshole'. Last time I checked our language doesn't take kindly to that word."

She smiled but didn't laugh. "Xellic," she whispered. "If you get me out of here I'll give you any freedom papers you want and more."

They sat in silence for a little while. Xellic was considering his answer. He spoke slowly and quietly. "All I want is you safe."

Zelda tensed slightly. Xellic couldn't help it any more. He moved closer and trapped her in the corner of the balcony. She tensed again but didn't try to get away. He was closer than any man had ever been before. He took another step closer and brushed a hand through her golden hair.

Link stood at the top of the temple with Midna by his side. Both of them were ready to die to kill the dragon. The dragon seemed to sense their new found courage and came at them with more rage than ever before. Link waited patiently on one of the four turrets for the dragon to spew fire at him when he could latch on to its tail with the claw-shot. It roared at blasted fire at him. He fired the shot at it hit dead center. He felt himself fly forward seconds before the fire hit the spot he had just been.

Zelda stared up into Xellic's burning red eyes. They had softened to a point where they now only looked like rolling embers. She couldn't deny how handsome he was. Over the last months where she'd been in captivity of Ganondorf, Xellic was always there to keep her safe. First it had nothing to with her. He enjoyed killing and it was what he was ordered to do. But over time he began to warm up to her and her to him. And there they were.

Link gulped in terror. Once again he'd forced all the armour off the dragon and it was furious. It blasted fire at him and he just managed to dodge it. He began to climb the turrets again, dodging blasts of fire every few minutes. He began to circle the dragon by means of the Peahat plants that were flying around. He was faster. In only a few moments he was behind the dragon. He blinked. There was something on its back similar to the one on the Morpheel's back. Midna started screaming in his head. _There, Link, there! That's its weak spot!_ Link suddenly knew exactly what to do.

Xellic looked deeply into Zelda's eyes. They were as blue as the clearest days in Ordon. They were full, innocent and knowledgeable. But he wasn't thinking about Link right now. He had eyes, ears and thoughts only for the beautiful princess before him. And she was beautiful. Only a fool wouldn't see that. Xellic had seen that the very first time he saw her, but at first his intentions were only to get on the sand dweller's good side. And now protecting her was his only thought. He would die to protect her, and that was why he had to do this now. His hand was half way through her golden hair when he placed his hand at the back of her head and pulled her forward. As their lips connected a single thought blasted through his mind. _This kiss will keep me safe and strong. Nothing can hurt me now._

Link held onto the dragon's scales as hard as he could. It was falling and he could only hope that it would land on the temple tower instead of down to Lake Hylia hundreds of miles below them. Thankfully it did and he rolled off its dead back painfully. He lay on his back panting, not daring to move. Midna came out of his shadow and disappeared from his line of sight. He heard a small explosion behind him as all creatures cursed by the Twilight did when they died. Midna was by his side again. "You're badly hurt," she said. "I need to get you out of here. I can only warp you to the cannon. But once we're back down to Lake Hylia I can warp you to Kakariko Village. I don't know where else to go."

Link nodded weakly. He tried to ignore the bizarre feeling of being warped but because of the deep wound in his arm it felt more painful and weirder than ever. He managed to stand and stumble to the cannon. His tunic was torn where the dragon's tail had slashed him. Who knew that armour that tail was a deadly point. The rest of his body was covered in burns and bruise. He felt mentally and physically exhausted. He didn't feel anything as the cannon blasted him back to Lake Hylia. Halfway through the freefall Midna warped him to the doors of Hyrule castle. Midna only had a second to turn him human again before Illia walked out of Renado's hut. She saw him and screamed. That was the last thing Link saw and heard.

A few minutes later he woke up in Illia's arms. Renado had helped her carry him into the Kakariko spring. He was still healing when he woke up. He sat up and looked at his arm. The ripped tissue and muscle was healing as he watched. Several of his smaller burns and bruises were already healed. He looked up at Illia whose face was stained from her tears. Link said nothing. All he wanted was her in his arms. He reached over and hugged her. She held him tenderly. She knew what was coming. "I have to go," he whispered. "I'm not finished yet."

Illia buried her face in his neck. "I know," she whispered. "But, Link, you have to promise me something."

"Anything."

"Come back to me. In one piece. I will not accept it if Xellic brings you back in a body bag."

Link didn't ask how she knew about Xellic being involved. She had an extraordinary ability to know things she wasn't supposed to know or that no one else knew. Link held her tighter. "I will Illia." He whispered. "I will."


	6. Chapter 6

Xellic sat in a chair by the fire. Zelda was asleep. She'd fallen asleep in his arms after they kissed and he began to prepare for the battle against Ganondorf. As soon as Link puts the Twilight Mirror back together he'll know. Time ran differently in the Twilight realm, according to Ganondorf. What felt like hundreds and hundreds of years in the twilight was in fact only about twenty five years in this realm. If all went well Link would return to protect Zelda before Ganondorf could do too much damage.

He looked out the window to the west, towards the desert. He wondered where Link was at the moment. How soon he was to getting all the pieces of the mirror. And if he got them all how close he was to the Arbiter's Grounds? He looked away from the window and into the dying fire. He felt tired but alert. Relaxed but on edge. He wanted nothing more than to march down to the throne room and hack the sand dweller's head off. But if he did that then Zelda would be left unprotected and every one of Ganondorf's followers would be on a murderous rampage to kill her and Xellic too. He couldn't have that. The safest thing for Zelda was to wait until Link was back to protect the princess.

Suddenly there was a bright light from the window. Xellic bolted up and ran out onto the balcony. It was definitely coming from Gerudo Desert. Zelda was at his side soon too. The light had woke her up. "What is it?" she asked, trying to sound alert, but it was obvious that she was exhausted.

A wide smile spread across Xellic's face. "It's Link," he whispered. "He's repaired the mirror. He's done it, Zelda, darling, he's done it!"

Zelda smiled a little. "What if he doesn't come back though?" she whispered.

The light had only died down when there was yet another flash, like lightning in the black sky. "He's already back. I'll bet anything he's on his way here already."

"And you're quite right,"

Xellic whipped around, his heart thumping. Ganondorf was standing at the door. His red hair looked like fire against his black skin. He smirked. "I require the princess, Xellic," he growled.

Xellic drew his sword. It looked tiny compared to Ganondorf's, but the wisdom of the fallen hero that he and Link both learned growled inside him like the wolf he often transformed into. He knew he could defeat Ganondorf but he needed Link to protect Zelda. At that second a bublin stepped up beside Ganondorf. It spoke in its high, crackly voice. "Scouts have alerted us that Link and Midna are at the gates."

There was a great shudder that went through the palace. Xellic glanced out at the golden barrier that was surrounding the castle. It was shattering and disappearing. Link was definitely there. Ganondorf was losing his composure. "Go head him off! Get King Bublin to kill him!" he screamed at the bublin and then turned to Xellic. "Give me the girl, Xellic, you will only die if you refuse me."

"I know you will kill me anyway." Xellic snarled. "And if I'm going to die I'm going to die with honour, protecting my princess and my queen."

"Then you will die now!"

Ganondorf lunged. Xellic was ready. He grabbed Zelda and jumped from the balcony to the roof. With the extra weight he almost didn't make it, but he did and he ran a short ways with Zelda before turning back. "Run," he hissed.

Ganondorf was on the roof now. He was seething. Xellic drew his sword again. But Ganondorf had no interest in blades. He began to grow and deform. Soon a huge bore-like animal stood in front of Xellic. He sheathed his own sword and turned into the huge white wolf. But he was nowhere near the size of Ganondorf now. Xellic's brain began to work furiously. Ganondorf's size was his weakness. If Xellic could only get him close to the edge and push him over he would go down and crash at the steps of Hyrule castle. Yes.

With a plan in his head Xellic began to circle Ganondorf. He darted suddenly to get around to his side. He was slow and Xellic took his chance, ramming hard into Ganondorf's side. The giant beast stumbled a bit and Xellic darted away. Stars had erupted in front of his eyes, making him dizzy. It took Ganondorf a few minutes to regain his balance and in that time Xellic shook the stars away from his line of vision. Ganondorf suddenly roared and charged. Xellic darted out of the way and rammed into his side again, knocking him off balance. He was so close to the edge but didn't fall. Xellic's head was beginning to hurt now.

Ganondorf charged again but this time Xellic didn't get out of the way quick enough. One of the great legs hit him in the stomach and he felt two or three ribs break. He trembled to his feet and coughed. He hurt all over. But he faced Ganondorf again. He wasn't so sure that he would win without dying anymore. But he could still win. Ganondorf charged. Xellic stood his ground until a second before and leapt onto Ganondorf's face. Xellic slipped and dug his claws into his face to hold on. He slid down Ganondorf's muzzle and Ganondorf reared. Xellic felt himself suddenly flying through the air. _I'm dead,_ he thought as he fell. He could hear Zelda screaming. _I'm sorry, Zelda._

Link darted up the stairs of Hyrule castle. How much time had passed since he last heard a roar from the castle roof? Was Zelda even still alive? Was Xellic? Midna was hissing in his ear. _Hurry, Link, hurry. We must save Princess Zelda._

Link cut down every bublin he came across with a fury he'd never known in anyone except Xellic. They were wasting his time, he needed to get to the roof _now_! He got lucky with the King Bublin. He gave up rather quickly and gave him directions to the roof and a key. Without stopping his running Link used the claw-shot to get across a giant hole in the stairwell. He was close, he could feel it. He crashed through a door, turned a corner, darted up what felt like a hundred steps and...

It was a horrible sight. At one point the upper part of Hyrule castle must have looked grand and beautiful. But no longer. The head of the one of the goddesses was lying on the stone floor. Other parts of the goddesses were lying around everywhere. A glowing Triforce fifty feet in the air encircled none other than Princess Zelda. She was unconscious. Link looked around. "Where's Xellic," he hissed.

"He has been disposed of." A voice from under the Triforce said. Link looked up. The man, if you could call him a man, had flaming red hair and skin as black as ash. There were several long, fresh gashes down the right side of his face. He smirked. "Welcome to my castle." He said.

"So you're Ganondorf," Midna growled. Her face split into a evil smile as he rose slowly to his feet. "I've been dying to meet you."

"Your people amuse me, Midna. You defied the gods with your petty magic and were cast aside. Your contempt for them made me strong. And though your people had skill, with no power they were useless." He looked greedily up at Zelda. "Those chosen by the gods have a type of absolute power. He who wields such power would make a suitable king for this world, don't you think?"

Link clenched his teeth. Ganondorf was holding up his left hand on which had a triforce, similar to the one floating above them, on it. Midna laughed. "Such conceit!" she yelled. "But if you are the one chosen to wield this so called power I will do _everything_ I can to deny you!"

Ganondorf, far from being intimidated, smirked again. "Shadow has been moved by light, it seems... how amusing." A black light began to envelope him. "Very well, deny me then." He looked once again up at Zelda. "You and your little friend."

Midna gasped and flew up to plant herself firmly in front of Zelda. Ganondorf suddenly disappeared into the black fog, flew through Midna's outstretched arms and right into Zelda's body. She turned, looking terrified. Link clutched his sword. And just as Zelda opened her eyes Midna went flying back. Link darted towards her but a golden barrier appeared. He was trapped. Link turned to face the Princess Zelda that was now being possessed by Ganondorf.

Xellic opened his eyes. It was pitch dark but he was covered in a slight glow. He vaguely recognised the feeling of being naked. He moved his hand to his ribs. They were still broken, but he couldn't feel any pain. He wondered where he was and as soon as the idea crossed his mind a pale man appeared in front of him. He introduced himself as a sage. In normal circumstances Xellic would have been scared to death that he was about to be banished to the twilight. But now he felt disgustingly calm. The sage began to speak. "You are here for your last chance to repent." He said in an echoed voice. "I am giving you one chance to give remorse for your actions or you will never see the beautiful fields of Hyrule again."

Xellic trembled and felt cold dread in his stomach. He'd done a lot of things and only a few things he felt like crap for. All of which involved his family, Illia and Zelda. When he did manage to speak he too echoed. "What do you wish me to repent for?" he asked.

"Anything you can truthfully confess and repent for."

Xellic opened his mouth about to repent, but something stuck in his throat. What he was about to say didn't seem right, or truthful. He looked up at the sage for help. He seemed to know what he was thinking. "You cannot repent what you've already repented, young one."

Xellic trembled again. He said the first thing that came to his mind. "I killed three of the royal guard escaping from my first hanging sentence." The sage only nodded and he continued. "All three had wives. One's wife was pregnant. Another had three children younger than fourteen. The third... the third had just lost her eldest son in a fire."

"How did you find this out?" asked the sage.

"The head of the guard told me when I fought for freedom a year ago. I didn't kill him. Then Ganindorf came along and I was ordered to protect Zelda."

"Are you telling me that you regret protecting our princess and soon to be our queen?"

"No, of course I don't regret it."

"So why does your repenting include her."

Xellic shivered. He didn't know what to say. So he just spoke the first words that came to his mouth. "I regret falling in love with Zelda..."

"Is that a question or a confession?"

Xellic thought deeply for a moment and something clicked. "I don't regret falling in love with her... I regret acting upon it and putting her in more danger than she already was."

"Wrong," the sage said.

He seemed to be moving further away. Xellic reached out and called for him to wait. He realized tears were falling from his face. Why? The sage gave Xellic a withering look. "You are a very good soldier, Xellic." He said cryptically. "Fast, strong and have no though of who you kill. You don't even look back."

Xellic though back to his many, many battles. They came back as clearly as if they just happened. As one image flashed through his mind, cold dread filled him faster than his blade has ever killed.

Link felt more powerful than he ever had in his life. Rage filled him as he watched Ganondorf hold Midna's helmet like a trophy. For the first time he wanted to kill. Zelda was ready with her golden arrows. They were both perched on Epona ready to fight. They took off after the black Clydesdale Ganondorf was riding. It was larger and faster than Epona. They quickly lost sight of him until they saw him riding at break neck speed towards them. Epona froze, scared to death. Zelda loaded an arrow but she couldn't charge it fast enough.

Ganondorf was ten feet away when a white blur came out of nowhere and flew straight into the Clydesdale. The horse whinnied in terror, pain and anger and kicked out at the white blur. It made contact and the white blur went flying. Link vaguely heard Zelda scream but couldn't pay attention. He kicked at Epona's sides and she burst into a run. Xellic had injured the Clydesdale badly enough that it slowed it down enough that Epona could catch up.

Zelda shot the arrows once, twice, three times. Ganondorf went down and Link leapt off Epona towards the sand-dweller. Ganondorf stood straight, holding the bloodstained, white wolf. Some of his bones were sticking out at odd angles. Even as Link watched Xellic turned from the white wolf into human once again. "I require your power, Xellic." Ganondorf said and dropped his broken human form on the ground and kicked him so hard he flew ten feet away.

Zelda ran forward and dropped to her knees at his side. He was trying to stand but Zelda held him down. "Sit me up," he grunted. "I need to be able to help Link if he needs it."

"You're alive!" Zelda cried.

"Yeah, yeah, for now." He grumbled.

Though his mind reeled in excitement that his dear Zelda was alive Xellic had to keep his mind ready in case Link needed him. But he needn't have worried. Link was fighting with a ferocity that not even Xellic could match. But Link was keeping a clear head, not getting reckless. He was truly the hero chosen by the gods. Xellic could see the look of shock on Ganondorf's face when Link pierced him with his sword. He sighed and closed his eyes. It was all over. With Zelda's help he stood to face Link who gave him a weird look. The Master sword was half raised in fear. Xellic laughed. "Do you really think I'm going to attack you, Link? Look at me, I'm almost dead."

Link let out a sigh and sheathed the blade. Zelda gasped and pointed. Xellic and Link turned and looked. Standing at the top of the hill was a beautiful, black skinned woman. "Who..." Zelda began but Link and Xellic both interrupted her.

"Midna," they both whispered.

Indeed it was. The three of them walked towards Midna who waited for them patiently. Link was staring blankly at her. She smiled a beautiful smile. "What," she said in a mystical voice. "Have you never seen someone as beautiful as I before?"

Link didn't speak. Xellic however, pulled himself straight. He walked up to Midna and knelt down, pulling out the Shadow Sword. He presented it to her. "I believe this belongs to you. The shadow blade forged by the smiths of the Twilight Realm."

Midna took the sword and looked at it closely. "How did you come to have it?"

"Zant. he gave it to Ganondorf who in turn gave it to me which was a part of what allowed me to transform. That and the power that Ganondorf took back."

He stood and approached the mirror of Twilight. "Xellic," Zelda cried. "What are you doing?"

He stopped, feet away from the mirror. "There's something I haven't told you, Zelda. It's something you'll never forgive me for. Something I haven't even forgiven myself for. And I'm not going to force you to watch me be banished anyway. So I'm making amends and banishing myself. I'm starting to think it's easier that I died." He saw the look on Zelda's face and laughed weakly. "Don't worry about me in the Twilight. I'll be a wolf for the rest of my life and I'm sure there's more than just the Twilight palace."

He looked a little bit desperately at Midna who nodded. He tried to smile again but it came as a pained grimace. Zelda's eyes filled with tears and she stuttered when she spoke. "But... but what did you d-do?"

Xellic closed his eyes tightly. "It was not a shadow beast that killed your father, Zelda. It was I. I didn't notice. I was killing as many as I could as fast as I could. I didn't realise until the Sages saved me. And now they've demanded penance."

Zelda was crying. Link was staring at his brother who still had his eyes tightly closed. He knew that this couldn't be the only way. There _had_ to be something he could do. He looked at Midna who, even now in her true and more beautiful form, had the same look of deep thought on her face.

"Please, Xellic," Zelda was crying. "I forgive you. I don't want penance. I want you to stay."

Xellic only shook his head. "I can't..."

Link and Midna's eyes met for a fraction of a second before Midna's eyes brightened. She turned to a pearly figure of a sage floating a few feet away from them. He had been unnoticed by anyone until that point. "Tell me, Sage of Hyrule," she said in a cool voice. "What if my people are tired of having your convicts being thrown into our world?"

"It is the punishment of your people's deeds. Your ancestors accepted this punishment, Twilight Princess."

"Very well," she growled. "But would it not be better for him to serve his penance as a human in this world than as a wolf in mine?" the Sage did not answer so Midna continued. "I have no need for wolves in my world. They are all turned to run free in the fields of Twilight. If he were to stay here and be human and serve the Princess Zelda in rebuilding the kingdom it would serve everyone better."

The Sage looked deeply into Midna's eyes. Xellic's own eyes reopened and stared at her. It was too good to be true. Finally the Sage spoke. "Xellic of Ordon Village will remain in Hyrule, serving the Princess Zelda in whichever way she chooses. He will not hold a weapon of any kind for five years. If he manages that his penance will be repaid."

And with that the Sage disappeared. Zelda stared wide-eyed at the spot where he disappeared. Xellic, however stepped forward and took Zelda's hand. He didn't need to say anything. His eyes said it all. Midna turned to Link again. "Link," she hesitated, then smiled. "Nevermind."

She turned to the mirror. In a ray of white light Midna returned to Twilight Realm. They, Link Zelda and Xellic, all stared at the mirror. A second later it blew up into a thousand pieces, truly and utterly destroyed.

**Ten Years Later**

Xellic ran his hand through his black hair. His seven year old daughter was exhausting. She constantly used every ounce of his energy. A second later Link collapsed beside him too. His eight year old son was just as exhausting. A few moments later the brothers' wives came laughing into sight. The now Queen Zelda was as magnificent as ever, if not more. The only difference was her protruding stomach containing her and Xellic's second child. Ilia was the same, only less pregnant. They both looked at their husbands and children and laughed. Little Blythe was the spitting image of Zelda. She had golden hair and her mother's ears and nose. She however she did have her father's eyes, blood red and dangerous when she was mad. Bo, named after Ilia's father, looked more like Link. Tanned hair, blue eyes and strong for a child so young. Though Xellic was not a vain man he was jealous that Link had a son that looked like him. he very much wanted his second child to be a tall boy with black hair and his mothers blue eyes.

Zelda and Ilia sat next to their husbands with some difficulty. They were at the hilltop where they last saw Midna of the Twilight Realm. It had been agreed between Link, Zelda and Xellic that they collect all of the individual shards of the twilight mirror but parts of the field still shimmered with mirror fragments. But the majority of the mirror was locked in a dungeon and protected every second of every minute of every hour of every day. No guard has any true idea of what they are protecting, only that it is crucial to the survival of Hyrule. But each of the three, unbeknownst to the others, took a single shard to remind themselves of what happened to them during that difficult time.

To Link it reminded him of how he and Midna travelled across Hyrule to save the princess Zelda.

To Zelda it was how she fell in love and her love helped her save her kingdom.

To Xellic it reminded him of how he was able to turn away from all the bad things he had done and repented. Of course, he was still repenting. He loved his daughter very much, but he had a feeling that the Sages had something to do with her wild amounts of energy and trusted that, though he didn't pick up a weapon for five years after the mirror was destroyed, he was still paying for the evil things he had done. He caught Zelda's eye and winked. He was sure that she was thinking the same thing.

Little did they know that Midna was chasing after her own children. Actually, her husband was. She had found another to love. Someone who wasn't a swollen headed wolf hero. He was a cool minded guard who had insisted on protecting her after Zant's betrayal. He had helped her collected every last shard of the destroyed mirror and spread them to the four twilight temples. The mirror should never be put back together. It was the first law she instated once the Twilight Kingdom was re-established.

Midna watched her husband pick up their youngest child, a daughter named Zelda as their older son, Link, raced ahead. She saw him beam at her and she smiled back. She never told her husband that she had fallen in love with Link before him. It wasn't important. She was in love with him now. When he turned away she pulled out the tiny shard she had kept for herself. She wondered how the others were. If Zelda and Xellic had children yet. Or if Link had his own children with the girl Ilia he sometimes spoke of and often thought about. She smiled to herself and put the shard away and walked towards her small family. She wished that she could see them all one more time. But that was impossible now. She made her choice and though it was sad, it was the right one.

She heard her name being called and continued walking towards her family. She slipped the shard back where it belonged and kissed her husband. Her children giggled and hugged them both. Midna looked down at them and smiled wider. She may not have the friends she made all those years ago, but she still had her kingdom, her new love and her family. Not only that but their two worlds, the worlds of light and twilight, were forever separated. It was better that way. Ten, twenty, and even a hundred years from now, the two worlds should always be separated. It will always be for the better.

_**The End**_


End file.
